Former New York Senator Malcolm Smith was yesterday sentenced to seven years in prison for bribery and related offenses. He was convicted in February. A former majority leader in the New York Senate, Smith was defeated for re-election in 2014. Smith is the latest associate of U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) headed to jail. Formal investigations of several New York politicians began in 2010 after the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) exposed corruption through stories in the New York Post, New York Times and New York Daily News. The first story, in the New York Post of January 31,...

Betty La France found a way to deal with a doctor who demanded she pay her entire bill upfront because the state could not be counted on to pay insurance reimbursement: She stopped going. While IL leaders waged a two-year budget battle, the state fell years behind in reimbursing medical providers for their services, skimping physicians and dentists even if their patients were up-to-date with their premiums. At public universities, officials and workers say some doctors and dentists, particularly those outside an insurance plan's provider network, increasingly asked patients to pick up the state's tab during the impasse. Some physicians,...

Sen. Bernie Sanders didn’t mince words on Tuesday when asked about the FBI’s investigation into his wife — calling it a “pathetic” and politically motivated attack, spurred by President Trump. “My wife is about the most honest person I know,” the Vermont lawmaker told CNN. “All that I will tell you now is it’s a sad state of affairs in America when not only we have politicians being destroyed… but when you go after people’s wives. That’s pretty pathetic,” he said.

Mr. Tillerson emerged as a contender on the strong recommendations of James A. Baker III, the secretary of state under President George Bush, and Robert M. Gates, the former defense secretary, according to a person briefed on the process. Mr. Kushner and Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, advocated strongly for Mr. Tillerson, and the president-elect became intrigued.

There was no press honeymoon for President Trump during his first month in office. A meticulous new study by the Media Research Center finds that 88 percent of the broadcast news coverage of Mr. Trump and his team was “hostile” during the first 30 days of office. The coverage was intense and plentiful. The study, which analyzed both tone and content for evening newscasts on ABC, NBC and CBS, found that the “Big Three” networks produced 16 hours of coverage on the new president and his staff. That is over half — 54 percent — of their total coverage for...

Union leader says some stations continue to follow Obama 'catch and release' directives Some border patrol stations have been slow to carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement executive order and instead have continued former President Barack Obama’s “catch-and-release” policies, according to a union official. Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, told LifeZette that he raised concerns Thursday with U.S. Border Patrol Chief Ronald Vitiello. He said he is confident that issue soon will be corrected. But Judd said as recently as Thursday, some border patrol stations were still releasing border-jumpers, often without even issuing notices to...

Police say scammers record the “yes” response and play it back to victims who try to deny the charges while the scammers try to threaten legal action. Law enforcement officials say the scam is a variation of one that began in late 2016. “You say ‘yes,’ it gets recorded and they say that you have agreed to something,” Susan Grant, director of consumer protection and privacy for the Consumer Federation of America, told CBS News. “I know that people think it’s impolite to hang up, but it’s a good strategy.”

Tyler DurdenJanuary 10, 2017 In a dramatic example of blowback against the establishment in the post-Trumpian world, Hungary announced it plans to crack down on non-governmental organizations linked to billionaire George Soros now that Donald Trump will occupy the White House. The European Union member, and native country of Soros, will use "all the tools at its disposal" to “sweep out” NGOs funded by the Hungarian-born financier, which “serve global capitalists and back political correctness over national governments,” Szilard Nemeth, a vice president of the ruling Fidesz party, told reporters on Tuesday. No one answered the phone at the Open...

(MPN) A recent poll of cable news network viewers found that CNN’s regular audience is far more skeptical of the political news they receive than Fox News fans. In the poll published Wednesday by Rasmussen Reports, 1,000 likely voters were asked to describe their media viewing habits. Seventy-five percent said they watch at least some form of cable news each week, with 42 percent saying they most frequently watch Fox News, 35 percent usually choosing CNN, and 19 percent favoring MSNBC. An even 50 percent of frequent Fox News viewers agreed with a followup question, “Do you trust the political...

Video-CNN [LOCK HER UP!] America is angry at Hillary and democrats. American mass media do not understand that. And especially CNN, because they are trying to help Hillary, so look what happens when that anger will collide with CNN, it is funny! >> One of the worst things the liberal media can do is start a live segment where they present their views in public. Not only is it because they’re bought and paid for by the Clinton campaign and her special interests, but for the fact that they look like absolute fools when the American public gets a hold...

It may come as a surprise that one of this country’s greatest experts on Richard M. Nixon’s many crimes is, in fact, Hillary Clinton. In 1974 she was, by many accounts, among the brightest members of the staff of the House Judiciary Committee that investigated Nixon and prepared the articles of impeachment. In this bizarre election year, it must be painful to her that she should find herself at the center of a scandal described by her hyperbolic political opponent, Donald J. Trump, as “worse than Watergate.” But while “Emailgate” is no Watergate, there are some noteworthy echoes. For one,...

It's been an interesting week. Last weekend, I wrote about a sudden surge in my family's cell phone data through Verizon. In my unscientific survey that lasted one week, every friend and acquaintance I asked said they were having the same problem: Their monthly data use had been soaring in recent months for no apparent reason. In some cases, using more data meant hefty over-limit fees. Well, well, well. Since my column ran a week ago, I've heard from about 700 Verizon customers (and quite a few AT&T customers too) in Ohio and many other states. Most have iPhones. Some...

Warren Buffett showed that the selloff in Wells Fargo & Co.’s stock this year has just made him love the banking giant even more, as he boosted his stake in the company to 504.3 million shares, according to regulatory filings. Buffett’s investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B, +0.01% now owns 10% of Wells Fargo’s common stock outstanding, making him by far the largest shareholder. That is up from 479.7 million shares, or a 9.45% stake, as of Dec. 31, filings show.

Leonardo DiCaprio has backed out of a pricey fundraiser lunch for Hillary Clinton that the actor had been scheduled to host at his Los Angeles home this week. Pop star Justin Timberlake and his wife Jessica Biel will instead host the event at their home. .......snip......... But the timing of DiCaprio’s cancellation comes as the actor’s environmental-focused charitable organization, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, was linked to a $3 billion Malaysian embezzlement scheme in news reports last week. The foundation — which focuses on climate change initiatives and hosts a glitzy annual party for hundreds of A-list celebrities and dignitaries —...

Viewers can now watch Clinton Cash online and see the controversial documentary that uncovers how Bill and Hillary Clinton built up a net worth of more than $150 million and established a foundation that takes in $2 billion in donations since leaving the White House in 2001. The film was adapted from the New York Times bestseller Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich, written by Peter Schweizer. It follows the sources of the Clintons’ wealth and the seemingly intertwined and shadowy connections between her work as secretary...

As I watched a video recently of Black Lives Matter protestors, I saw several of the mostly peaceful marchers raise their hands in the "Hands Up, Don't shoot" routine. Apparently, they haven't heard that Michael Brown never said that but since, celebrities, athletes, the mainstream media and of course, Democrats continue to spread that lie, who can blame the low infos from believing it. [snip] Certainly, the demonstrators don't even pay attention to what black journalists have reported but they aren't interested unless Beyonce, Jay-Z and other hip-hop singers tell them what to think. When MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart, wrote an...

To former President Bill Clinton's and former senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's long, long list of scandal, impropriety and simple embarrassment add two new entries: the curious cases of Rajiv Fernando and Laureate University. Steven Hayward of Power Line, one of the blogs that pioneered investigative blogging, put together a summary of the Laureate International Universities' facts, the most important three of which are that Bill Clinton served as the organization's "honorary chancellor" between 2010 and 2014, that he was paid $16.5 million to do so (good work if you can get it). The Department of State granted...

Top Republican donors may be taking their time flocking to Donald Trump, but a prominent billionaire is on board: energy and hedge fund magnate T. Boone Pickens. Pickens, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a hedge fund conference in Las Vegas, said he talked to Trump Monday and confirmed to the New York billionaire and presumptive nominee he'd support his candidacy.

Everyone has already voiced their astonishment regarding the complete disenfranchisement of approximately 1,000,000 registered Republican voters in the State of Colorado. It is clear that the Colorado Republican Party has no interest in the voice of their constituents. The CO Republican Party rules for the delegation selection process and delegates are outlined at the source below. http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/CO-R As you have seen, the GOP is extremely proud of their achievement to privatize the selection of a presidential candidate for Colorado. They have published the list of Colorado delegates in The Denver Post and other sources. Many of you may have friends...

Saudis, Russia Agree to Freeze Oil Output; Iran Still Resists by Reuters Feb 16 2016, 9:34 am ET Top oil exporters Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed on Tuesday to freeze output levels but said the deal was contingent on other producers joining in - a major sticking point with Iran absent from the talks and determined to raise production. The Saudi, Russian, Qatari and Venezuelan oil ministers announced the proposal after a previously undisclosed meeting in Doha. It could become the first joint OPEC and non-OPEC deal in 15 years, aimed at tackling a growing oversupply of crude and helping...